Kat Marie
Information ' Name': Kat Marie ' Nickname': (Same as first name.) Age:23 DOB: 7/17/1987 Hair Color: Brown (Sometimes covers it with a black fedora, as seen in picture.) Eye Color: Blue. Favorite Color: Purple. Favorite Food: Cinnamon rolls. Hobbies: Drawing, writing stories, crocheting/knitting, various arts and crafts, cooking and occasionally painting. Career Dream: Being an author and an artist. Worst Fear: Spiders. (Had arachnophobia since childhood.) History Kat is shy and quiet at first, but once she warms up to people, she's friendly. She lives at home with her mother and brother, and is currently trying to make money by selling books she wrote, but is also having a hard time finding a job. One day, her mother came across her invitation and gave it to her, thinking it was an opportunity to make friends. Not wanting to go, but just to give her mother some hope, she agrees. After accepting the invite, her dog, became violent in her behavior, and ran off. Moments later, she receives a call from the Red Death, mocking her situation like the Wizard of Oz. Now, she vows to get her precious pet back, thinking that things won't get any wrose than it is already. Victim in Holding: Her dog, Luna. Dress and Mask Kat's Prologue "I'll be home at lunch time! See you later!" I groaned tiredly as my mother said her good-byes, locked and shut the front door. I flopped back over on my bed and fell asleep. I hadn't slept well the night before and needed all the extra sleep I could get. When I finally decided to get out of bed, I looked at the clock and realized that it was 8:40 A.M. Stretching and yawning, I stood up and pet my West Highland white terrier named Luna. "Good morning, puppy!" I said, giving the dog a belly-rub. The dog didn't move, but she was still asleep. Luna typically slept longer than I did, and I must admit, I was a little jealous. I walked out of my bedroom, through the living room and into the kitchen to see a note left on the table. I picked it up and noticed it was a to-do list left by my mother. She left me one of these daily, and they kept me busy during the day. Since I didn't have a job, I used these lists in place of that. Pouring myself a bowl of Cheerios, I read the list over. "Hm... Clean the bathroom, wash the dishes, do your laundry, make sure Luna gets outside every two hours, and make me some tuna fish with onion bits mixed in for lunch. See you at lunch time! - Mom." I put the cereal away and poured some milk into my bowl, deciding to start the list after I ate breakfast and woke up a little. I walked into the living room, nearly tripping in my red sock monkey footie pajamas that were a few sizes too big. A few Cheerios fell out of my bowl but I didn't pick them up, figuring Luna would eat them once she woke up. I sat on the couch and turned on the TV. As I ate, I watched a little bit of the "Today" show. I wasn't interested in what the topics were. Instead, I let my mind wander to thoughts of in what order I would finish the tasks on my mom's to do list. I sighed, turned off the TV and ran into my room to get some clothes that I would wear that day. Turning on my bedroom light, I ran over to my closet and pulled out a pair of blue jeans. I then ran over to my big, brown, wooden dresser and pulled what I needed out of there, including a favorite t-shirt of mine, a green one with a picture of Yoshi from "Super Mario Bros." and the word "BOOST" written in white letters. Luna looked up at me, and then fell back asleep. I smiled at my dog, grabbed a towel and ran to take a shower. Fifteen minutes later, I was clean, dressed and ready to start my to-do list. I decided to start my laundry and to make the tuna while waiting for the laundry to go through various cycles. I dragged my hamper of dirty clothes down the cellar stairs, separated the clothes into light and dark piles, started the whites and grabbed a can of tuna out of the pantry. I ran upstairs and started making my mom's lunch. I had learned early on that the tuna had to be made early, since it apparently tasted better cold. I didn't like fish, so I didn't care how it "tasted better" or what temperature it should be at. I grabbed a small bowl and made my mom's tuna fish, even cutting up a quarter of an onion and adding it in. I wrapped the bowl of tuna up with saran wrap and put it in the fridge. Smiling, I picked up a pen that lay by the to-do list and happily scratched off "make me some tuna fish with onion bits mixed in for lunch". I ran over to the stove and turned on the tea kettle to make myself a cup of tea. I liked drinking tea in the morning because I felt like it woke me up a little bit faster and gave me more energy to get things done. As I waited for the tea water to go off, I decided to clean the bathroom. It was relatively simple to do. All I had to do was wipe down the bath tub, clean the toilet and wash the counter top and sink. I got started by cleaning the toilet. I had to close the door to prevent Luna from coming into the room and licking the toilet water, since I had already put the cleaners in. I worked on cleaning the bathroom for over twenty minutes, making sure it was clean and presentable by the time my mom got home from work. I liked feeling accomplished. The tea kettle whistled loudly. "Couldn't have come at a better time." I thought, eager to have a cup of tea. I ran to the kitchen, washed my hands, turned off the tea kettle, went into the cupboard and grabbed my favorite mug, which had a picture of a chicken on it. I placed a tea bag in the mug, poured the water in, and decided to switch my laundry around while waiting for the tea to brew. As I did that, Luna followed me around. I came back upstairs and scratched "Clean the bathroom" off my to-do list. I was happy. Things were getting done, and it was almost noon time. I studied my list and noticed that all I had left to do was to wash the dishes, finish my laundry and make sure that the dog got outside. I decided to do the last one when my mom got home. Being nice, I made my mom a tea as well, putting hers in a mug she got for Mother's Day. As I was pouring the milk into the teas, the front door could be heard opening. Luna ran into the living room and started barking. She stopped and began jumping for joy as soon as my mom got inside. I waved. "Hello. When's the last time Luna's been out?" "She hasn't yet, but I've been busy." "Let's get her outside, then. Oh, by the way. Did you check the mail?" "No. It's too early for that yet. Why?" "This came for you. It looks really fancy." "Hm..." I took the odd looking envelope from my mother and noticed that it had a vanilla scent to it. It wasn't overpowering, but it struck me as weird. The writing on the front had my name written out in gold cursive lettering, and under that, "You are cordially invited to a masquerade ball!" was written. I started to get nervous. I hardly ever got invited to anything, let alone a ball. I pried the envelope open and read the invitation. I was disappointed when it was very vague on details. "Place: Prospero Castle in Kite City. Time: Tonight. Transportation will be provided. RSVP? Yes or No. Sincerely, the Red Death." I read. I tried tearing the invitation up and throwing it away, but was shocked when I was unable to. My mom put her hand on my shoulder. "You should go. It'll give you an opportunity to make friends." "'Friends'? Or do you mean 'people who will only pretend to like me because I can draw'?" "Don't be so negative. Give it a shot." "Okay, but don't expect me to have fun. I'd much rather stay here and play 'Super Smash TV' until my hands go raw." My mother sighed and walked into the kitchen. I grabbed a red pen off of a nearby end table and circled "Yes" on the invitation. It burned up in my hands and vanished without a trace. I didn't tell my mother, as I doubted she would believe me. I followed her into the kitchen and made myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. My mother ate her tuna fish on top of some salad that had to be eaten before it went bad. We talked about how our days were going and what we would do after this whole masquerade ball thing was over. Luna ran over to my mother, and then looked at me. Unusually, she started growling at me. I was taken aback, since my dog was very friendly and playful. I tried reaching down to pet her, and she bit my left hand. My mother thought the behavior was odd, but decided to joke about the behavior being because I hadn't taken her outside earlier. I nodded and followed my mom and the dog outside. I went to reach for the dog in an attempt to play with her, and she backed away. I tried again, and she snapped at me. I was afraid. I tried a third time and the dog ran off, squeezing underneath the fence in the back yard. I started crying. My mother had seen the whole thing and wondered what the heck had just happened. My mother's cell phone then started ringing. She answered it and it was her father. Her face turned from a look of peace to a look of fear as she was told that one of my uncles had been involved in a car wreck on the way to visit him and my grandmother. That was all I had heard. When my mother got off her phone, she told me the news. I began panicking. "First Luna attacks me and runs off, now this? Something's not right." "It could be just a run of bad luck." "That's too much bad luck for one day!" "All we have to do is hope things will turn out for the best. I've got to get back to work and you've got a ball to get ready for. I'll keep an eye out for Luna and keep you posted on your uncle's condition." "Thanks." As my mother left to go back to work and I walked inside the house, the telephone rang. I groaned angrily, as I hated answering any phone, including my cell phone. "I'll get you, my pretty. I've already got your little dog." a deep, masculine voice on the other line said. "What the?! Who is this?!" I demanded. The voice laughed before hanging up. I slammed the phone down on the receiver. I was angry. "Someone's got my dog, and I wouldn't be surprised if they hurt my uncle too. Whoever it was will pay! I'll go to this stupid ball and give whoever they are a good thrashing! If...they're even there..." I said, running down the cellar stairs. I tripped over my feet on the last step, injuring my ankle. "Well, doesn't this just suck eggs...?” I said, rubbing my ankle and standing up. I had to walk with a limp to get over to where my clothes hung on a line. Searching through the mess, I stumbled upon a gown I had worn when I was a member of a wedding party, years ago. It was a blue sleeveless gown with a long, flowing skirt. The top sparkled as the light of the basement hit it. I didn't have time to be picky, so I grabbed that. I hobbled back upstairs and ran through the house looking for materials to make a mask. I didn't want to race out and buy one, since I was a "recycled artist" and made everything I did from things I found around the house. I quickly threw together a mask that covered the top half of my face and made me look like a peacock. Looking it over, I muttered, "No time to be picky. Dog gone. Uncle hurt. Ankle...most likely broken." under my breath. I ran to my room, grabbed some nylons and a pair of black high heeled shoes and ran to the bathroom. I wrapped my ankle up in an ace bandage as best as I could and got dressed. I didn't look too fancy, but then again, I wasn't expecting to be the belle of the ball. I grabbed a black headband out of the drawer opposite the one I got the bandage out of. I put it in my hair and left the bathroom. Time seemed to be going slow, and I was in a panic. When I found time to be less frazzled, I sat on the couch, pulled out my cell phone and called my mother. Instead, I got one of her co-workers. When I asked if she was there, I got the worst possible answer anyone could get. "She never came back to work. Sorry." was that answer. I hung up the phone and started bawling. I then started putting two and two together. "That invitation! Things started going downhill after I signed 'Yes' on that thing! It's the only thing I can think of!" I cried. As I stood up and paced back and forth as best as I could on a bum ankle. I then heard a horn beep outside the front door. I looked out the window and saw a limousine parked in front of my house. "Why is there a limo there?" I asked myself. I looked closer and saw a red flag on the antenna that said "Prospero Castle" in black cursive letters. I came to the conclusion that this was the transportation. I made sure everything in the house was shut off and locked as I left the house. I took a deep breath as I was let into the car. As it drove off, I kept asking myself, "Things can't get any worse, can they?" but little did I know, things were going to get a lot worse.